LOS ANGELES — The FBI has abandoned its attempt to confiscate more than $1 million in cash that was seized from armored cars transporting the money for state-licensed marijuana businesses in California.
The FBI’s return of the money signals a retreat by the U.S. Justice Department from an aggressive legal move that could have disrupted the operation of marijuana outlets that are legal under California law but violate federal law.
The FBI initially alleged that the $1.1 million, seized last year from armored cars pulled over by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies in Barstow and Rancho Cucamonga, was tied to federal drug or money-laundering crimes, but nobody was charged.
